Which tribes lived near the Table Rocks?

Clovis Points
Clovis Points Courtesy of Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology

It is estimated that people have lived in the Rogue River Valley for at least 15,000 years. This estimate is based on archaeological evidence of distinctive dart and projectile points that date to about that time, called Clovis points. (Aiken 1990:1)

Aiken, Melvin C.

  • 1990 Southwest Oregon: Living With the Land. In Living With the Land: The Indians of Southwest Oregon. Nan Hannon and Richard K. Olmo, eds. Pp. 1-5. Medford, Oregon: Southern Oregon Historical Society.

The Takelma Indians (pronounced "Dagelma") lived along the middle and upper Rogue River, including the Table Rocks area. They enjoyed the rich abundance of food resources available near the Table Rocks.

The Takelma were divided into two distinct sub-groups (Gray 2003:2). These groups spoke related dialects of the Takelma Language. The Takelma Language is of the Penutian Language family:

Gray, Dennis J.

  • 2003 Flounce Around Fuels Cultural Resource Inventory. Medford, Oregon: U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Management.
  • The Takelma proper (or Lowland or River Takelma), who called themselves Dagelma, meaning "those living alongside the river"
  • The Upland Takelma (or Latgawa) meaning "those living in the uplands"

In addition to the Takelma, there were several other Native American tribes that lived near this region. The following is a brief list of other local Indian tribes living in the region and their distinct languages:

Region Tribe Language Spoken
Bear Creek Valley (south of the Talent area), Upper Applegate River, Deer Creek, Shasta River, and along the Upper Klamath River and tributaries Shasta Hokan Speakers
Lower Rogue River Tututni Athapascan speakers
Galice Creek Area Tal-tuc-tun-te-de Athapascan speakers
Applegate Area Da-ku-be-te-de Athapascan speakers
Lower Illinois River and the Rogue River between present-day Agness and Foster Bar Shasta Costa or Chasta Costa Athapascan speakers
Lower Klamath River, downstream from the Shasta People Karok Hokan speakers

Tribal map
Tribal Map Mark Tveskov Professor of Anthropology, Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon Native American woman
Southern Oregon Native American Woman Southern Oregon Historical Society: #6454